The Hush Sound
by Record Cover
Summary: RikkuGippal: Rikku has a plan, a good plan, and she's going to use it to get what she wants. Secrets like these however, are only meant to ever be whispered. AU.Spiran Twist CHAPTER 4 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**The Hush Sound - Chapter 1  
The Hush Sound**

* * *

Hot sun beat down upon the girl's eyelids as she trudged through the sand, little beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face, glistening on her golden tanned skin upon perfect toned muscles. She wiped her forehead with her forearm and stared out into the horizon. She had no shadow and couldn't see the sun; it had to be right overhead, which could only mean it was midday. Great, she was late, hot, and still at least three kilometres away from Home. Oh well, the exercise could do her good. 

She wiped her forehead again before proceeding to persevere her way over the vast sand dunes, two slick, crimson, crescent-shaped daggers in her hand, brightly coloured scarf trailing at her ankles, blonde hair trailing down her back and sticking to sticky, sweat covered skin. Her blue and white boots sank into the sand a little each step she took, and she licked her dry lips. Not far now.

* * *

The blond man with the eye patch spoke to the silver haired woman standing in front of him, leaning back against the table. The woman looked at him through her crimson-red eyes, a flat and bored expression on her face. 

"What?" She asked.

The man shook his head, peering down at her. He was at least fifteen centimetres taller than his companion.

"How many teams have applied?"

The woman studied her hands, covered in black leather gloves. She adjusted a belt on her top.

"We've got at least six teams now, and we're expecting more still. The sixth so far applied this morning," She said. "It seemed popular,"

The man nodded. Right… right… that was good. Lots of applicants meant lots of publicity, and that had to be good news.

"When d'you think we could start?" He asked.

"Oh, I should say in a couple of days. After the last of the applicants arrive," The woman in black replied dryly.

* * *

"Rikku! Where have you been?" A stocky man with a blond Mohawk demanded to the girl as soon as she trudged her way into the room, covered in sweat and sand. 

The girl called Rikku scowled at her older brother, who was _very_ appropriately named; Brother.

"I've been playing with the sand worms," She replied sarcastically. She twirled her two daggers in her hands before plunging them back into the sheaths strapped on either side of her thighs with the sound of the sleek metal brushing down against the leather pouches.

Brother's cheeks turned a blotchy red.

"Do you not remember what happened the last time you said you went _playing with the sand worms_?" He shot at her, voice thick with his native Al Bhed accent.

Rikku rolled her eyes, a bright, earnest emerald green, sparkling with life, pupils black swirls orbing into the centre.

"If you cannot remember, I will remind you," Brother continued calmly. "You broke the hover down and got lost. Then I had to pick you up."

"For you information, Brother," Rikku said tetchily, poking him in the chest. She had a sulky pout on her face. "I did not _break the hover down_, it ran out of fuel. And I was only ten minutes away from Home, not like you lost anything by picking me up," She snapped.

Brother rolled his eyes.

"Vydran knows how hopeless you are," He says.

Rikku opened her mouth to retaliate, but was cut off by a new person.

"Hey, hey, keep it cool," Someone said. They had a low, calming voice. Rikku whipped around to see Buddy, blonde fuzz, goggles, blue gloves, charming smile and all.

Rikku gasped and grinned, forgetting her annoyance at her brother.

"Buddy!" She giggled. "But I haven't seen you for weeks! Where've you been?! Someone said you went to Luca! What were you doing there?!"

Buddy chuckled. Rikku was being excited and nosy again.

"Whoa, whoa, hold your Chocobos," He said. "I been at Luca, I had that job at the Stadium, remember?"

Rikku nodded.

"But that wouldn't have taken you so long,"

"I stopped by D'jose a while, big Faction there. Head's name is Gippal, and he's got an apprenticeship program goin'," Buddy shrugged.

"D'jose!" Rikku squealed with delight. "But Yunie's there! Ooh… what program is it?"

He shrugged again. "We go, stay for a month. Best team'll be given a huge position at the Faction. Deal too great to miss," Buddy said, his green eyes sparkling with excitement and prospect.

"Sounds woozy," Rikku frowned.

"Oh, but this is big, Rikku. If you win, you'll have a whole sector of workers under you. You're in charge of half the whole Faction. We're going to take a shot at it, as the Gullwings," Buddy grinned.

"I don't know this Gippal, and I've never heard of the Faction, either,"

"_Machine _Faction," Buddy corrected. "Gippal's an Al Bhed. I saw him a couple of times yesterday… looked right enough,

Rikku considered the chance of scoring it big on the mainland. Hmm…

"I wanna go!" She said.

Buddy shook his head in response. "Nope, sorry, he's only lookin' for men,"

* * *

Gippal studied the sheet of paper he was holding. The woman with silvery brown hair was talking to another; she was wearing a white apron and had a pale heart-shaped face, brown hair falling delicately around the side of her cheeks. The most unusual feature about this young woman were her eyes; one a bright blue, the other a clear evergreen. The two were conversing in a casual manner; it was clear they were friends. 

Gippal looked up and cleared his throat. The women stopped talking to look at their boss.

"Yuna," He asked. The woman with the bi-coloured eyes nodded. "D'you know where Tidus is,"

The woman named Yuna shook her head.

"I haven't seen him all day," She said. "He wasn't at breakfast, either,"

Gippal's eyebrows furrowed, blond bangs falling into his forehead.

"Alright, then,"

Yuna nodded again and turned to her friend. They two started their conversation.

Gippal tried to keep reading through the paper; it was an important one; the rooms at D'jose would have to be sorted out soon… He looked up at the women again.

"Who're the Gullwings, Paine?"

Paine stopped and turned to Gippal. She looked at him before raising a hand to brush her hair out of her face, red eyes surveying him.

"They're a team of sphere hunter mechanics based in Bikanel," She said. "Why?"

Gippal shrugged and fiddled with the studs in embedded in the black leather strap of his eye patch. "I dunno. Some of their names seem familiar," He said. "Do you know when they're coming?"

Paine shook her head. "In a few days, I'd expect,"

Gippal shrugged again. "Alright, if you say so,"

* * *

"_Whaaat?! _What kind of a jerk won't let girls do it?" Rikku wailed in loss. "Well, wait till he sees what I can do, I'm the best darn engineer there is on the whole of Bikanel," Rikku said loftily. She looked at Buddy. "You'll let me come with you, take me, will ya? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a part of the Gullwings as well!" 

Her friend shook his head in response. "He doesn't want _girls_, how do ya think you're gonna get in?"

The corner of Rikku's mouth twitched. "Yeah, well…" She bit her lip. For a moment, Buddy watched Rikku as she bit her lip and looked down onto the ground. Brother, feeling lost and dejected, cut in angrily.

"Rikku cannot go to D'jose!"

Rikku's head shot up to glare at her brother.

"Why not?"

"Because you are a girl,"

"And?"

"You have… you have _boobs_," Brother's eyes appeared to pop out of his sockets.

"And?"

"Gippal does not want girls, or boobs," Brother fumed.

Rikku stuck her tongue out at him, brushed sweaty strands of hair out of her face and crossed her arms. A determined look appeared on her face. She wanted, no, she _needed_, that job.

"See if I care, I'm gonna get in, and I'm gonna get that job," She said.

"How?" Buddy asked.

"By going as a boy."

* * *

And so... we have chapter 1 :) Please read and review. Oh and yes this was posted at QTC first.. but I decided to put it up here from now on instead.  
Thankyaa :D  



	2. Chapter 2

**The Hush Sound - Chapter 2  
Give me your immortality, I'll set you up with the stars**

* * *

The two men stared at the girl with disbelieving looks on their faces.

"What?" Rikku asked.

Brother and Buddy exchanged apprehensive looks. Rikku, wanted to come along? But the posters had been clear enough; _Men only_.

"Come on," Rikku wheedled, "I'm already one of the guys around here anyway, what difference will it make?"

Buddy's eyes swept Rikku up and down. A yellow bikini top and miniskirt was probably not the best attire to wear when you were pretending to be a boy. No, make that, _trying_ to pretend to be a boy.

Sure, Rikku was probably _could_ pass as 'one of the guys' at Home; she had grown up tagging along with them, grown up playing with machina and getting covered in oil to her elbows each day, but Rikku? He had probably never seen a girlier looking… well, Girl, in his life.

"No! Look… I'll dress up!" Rikku said brightly. "I'll wear… a hat, to hide my hair and big clothes to hide my figure! I can borrow your overalls, right?" Rikku added to Brother.

When Brother did not respond, she pouted.

"Pnudran…" She whined, adding in the Al Bhed address for increased measure.

Her brother remained stock still, she caught his eye and threw him a glare.

"_**Right?**_"

"R-right," Brother stammered. _Oh, in the name of all Sanubia's vast Sands, why, Rikku?! You cannot do this! Vydran will _kill you_ for this if he finds out!_ Brother almost choked. He could picture Cid's expression, red in the face outraged, _'You stinkin' piece o' hopeless dead shoopuff skin! How could you let her go off on her way like that?!' _Brother scowled and regained his confidence. Rikku would _not_ be the one to intimidate him.

"Not that you have much of a figure to cover," Brother said fiercely.

Rikku's eyes narrowed. Her fists clenched unconsciously. Ooh, the stupid, big, meanie, he just didn't want her to go in case she was competition.

She almost launched a head first attack on him.

Thankfully, Buddy grasped her arm and yanked her back towards him just as she prepared to step up into Brother's direct path.

"Rikku, stop being so hot headed," He chuckled. Rikku gasped and choked. Her? Hot headed? _Yeah, right! _As if he could talk, Buddy, he, he was- Rikku's lip trembled. There was no-one in the whole entire population of Home that could be any more laid back than Buddy was. _Aw, poop_.

Rikku's face fell.

"So you won't let me come?"

Buddy and Brother exchanged another glance. They could converse each other's opinions in a single look, after two decades of close friendship. Brother sighed and wilted; _We cannot change her mind even if we tried by hitting her over the head and knocking her cold with a monkey wrench. So why try?_

Buddy chuckled again and shook his head. He looked at Rikku.

"You sure you wanna do this? Dress up as a boy for a month."

Rikku hesitated and considered the fact for a moment. Was she really willing to dress up as a boy? She'd have to hide her identity, her gender. Not to mention, Yuna would be at D'jose, and she wasn't sure how Yuna would take it that her _girl_-cousin was suddenly a _boy_-cousin… Probably not so well, Rikku thought.

She didn't know this Gippal, but how hard would it really be to fool him? Rikku imagined her own face in her mind's eye. Hmm… maybe take away the lip gloss, put on a cap, change her walk to a slouch… she just might pass. And if she could just persuade Brother to hand her a pair of overalls… easy as pie. Right?

As for Yuna, she'd probably have to bag the poor girl and drag her off before she submitted to her explanation. Rikku cringed. Her cousin would probably have a bunch of insults and tactics ready up her sleeve to try and persuade Rikku out of it, but, nope, no sirree, she wouldn't let Yuna argue with her.

Rikku frowned again. No lip gloss, for a month? No bikinis, no skirts, no scarves no beads or braids… no nail polish. Her eyes widened. None of that, for a _month_? Oh, she wouldn't be able to live.

Buddy looked at his friend, something of a younger sister to him, amusedly. He could almost see the little cogs and wheels working in her head, weighing out the statistics. He knew what she was thinking. It was the skirts and braids versus the hidden identity and the shot at grand prize. Buddy grinned. He knew what the outcome of her mental debate would be.

* * *

Gippal paced the room uneasily, back and forth. It was almost lunchtime, and he could smell Yuna's cooking, hot steam wafting through the room. His stomach grumbled, but hunger was not his source of dilemma.

All Gippal's striding was proving to be a very good, and very unwanted, distraction to Paine. She sat in one of the hard, wooden chairs at a table in the cafeteria, her leg crossed over her knee, a clipboard positioned in her lap. Her hand skidded back over the papers as she made last minute checks to the application listings.

Every now and then, Gippal let out a frustrated groan and ran his hand backwards through his air, shuffling around. And every now and then, Paine and Yuna would both look up from their work to stare at him, puzzled looks on their faces, before one turned back to her paperwork, the other to the large pot of wonderfully smelling hot soup she was in the midst of brewing.

Paine thought, to herself, that she was being rather patient with Gippal at the moment; and only because of two factors; one because he had the power to sack her if he wished, and two, because they were friends, and she didn't want to cause a strife over such a small thing. However, his distracted pacing back and forth was becoming irritating as she was no longer able to concentrate on her work.  
Setting her pen down onto the table, Paine looked at Gippal. He was muttering to himself, thumb on his chin.

"What." Paine demanded.

Gippal looked at her in shock.

"What?"

"Why are you pacing around this room back and forth like a maniac? It's distracting."

Gippal twitched.

"I guess I'm just uneasy about this whole thing… hey, man, you really don't know where Tidus is?"

Paine shook her head, rolling her eyes, and picked her pen up again. She didn't think she wanted to know.

Gippal ignored her reaction, and looked towards Yuna hopefully. Catching his eye, she shook her head.

"Why are you so worried?" Yuna asked peacefully, whilst taking a taste test of the soup. She blew on it gently before bringing the spoon to the tip of her tongue, tasting it thoughtfully. _Hmm, maybe it needs a little more salt_.

Gippal shrugged. "Don't know… I have a hunch."

Paine almost snorted. Gippal. Had a hunch. Mhmm. Yeah. Keep going.

Yuna made a, Hm,-suit-yourself look and turned back to her cooking. Working in the kitchens at the Faction had to be the most enjoyable job in the world, she thought. It felt nice, spending her time thinking up of new lunches, and watching everyone dig in; _This is awesome, Yuna_. It was so satisfying.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a question that had been at the back of her mind for quite a while reared its head.

"Why is this thing men's only anyway?" Yuna asked.

Gippal looked up at her. She tilted her head a little to the side questioningly.

"I… Well… Cid wanted to find someone who would be capable of handling things on their own, y'know, not let things get out of hand, know what to do if something blew up…" He talked about the building blowing up in the most casual way, as if it were nothing. Maybe it was just the way he had been brought up; with the Al Bhed. The Yevonites certainly were not that open-minded about single-handedly destructing a large room built of stone and marble.

Yuna blinked. Uncle Cid was involved in the program? That was new. But how he wanted a men to be the only ones to apply for the program? That, wasn't. In fact, it sounded _exactly_ like Cid.

"Don't you think it's a little…" She trailed off, stirring her large wooden spoon in the giant vat of soup.

"Sexist?" Paine's voice came from the other end of the room. Gippal spun on the balls of his feet to face her. He shrugged.

"That's what I said at first," He answered, grinning. "There's nothin' like a hot chick that can-" Gippal stopped as he caught Paine's face and changed his direction. "It wasn't my fault. Cid was the one who said there weren't going to be any girls allowed. You know how he is," He finished, scowling at her. Paine shook her head.

"I do not."

"Well," He paused, then turned to Yuna. "_You_ do,"

Yuna nodded.

"He's very, very traditional."

"It's still sexist."

"Hey, look, I can't do anything about it, alright?"

Paine nodded nonchalantly before turning back once more to her papers. Gippal made a face. He made himself a mental note never to say anything in front of Paine's face that could possibly lead to another of her feminist rights action philosophies ever again. It would be unbearable to endure another of her long, lecture-come-threat sessions. _Threats to shove her sword up my ass, at least,_ Gippal thought scathingly. He shuddered. Whilst Paine spent her days as a sarcastic, yet seemingly innocent secretary to the Faction, he knew she was also a gifted warrior, and although he also had his fair share of skill in combat, he did not want to come face to face with an angry Paine that wielded a large and potentially harmful, sword.

"It's too late to change it now," Gippal said. "People'll start coming in soon."

Paine's face remained blank. It didn't concern her, much, anyway. He was the boss, and it was his choice, wether to let women apply or not. Not her business.

Shrugging away again, Gippal continued to pace the room as the scratching sound of Paine's pen occupied the room once more.

* * *

Brother stared at his friend's interaction with his sister. He was almost encouraging her, Buddy, he was, with that stupid grin and all that chuckling. That, would spell the downfall of his sister. No, wait, suggesting that she dress up as a boy had been the moment her dignity had flown out the door, so this didn't count. Wait, what was he saying? Yes, wait, hold on, no. What?!

Brother shook his head as if to shake his thoughts off and looked at Rikku.

"Rikku?" He said quietly.

Rikku looked up at him.

"I'm going to do it," She said. "Who cares, it's only for a month,"

Buddy grinned. Rikku, dress up as a boy? This, he had to see.

"Alright," He said.

"You'll let me come? REALLY? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Yep. But on the deal that no-one spills. Got it?" He said to Brother. Buddy didn't understand why Brother was so reluctant. It was all a huge joke, right?

Rikku could be heard whooping and giggling in delight in the background.

Brother ignored Buddy and walked out the door, straight backed and solemn.

"I am going to tell Vydran."

Rikku stopped laughing and stared wide eyed at her brother.

"But… Pops is never gonna agree!"

Buddy chortled and patted Rikku on the head.

"I think, that was the point, Rikku."

"Oh."

_Great._

* * *

"Man, I'm beat," A young man's voice rang through the kitchen. Yuna looked up to see him, tanned, stocky, shaggy blond hair, toolbox in his hand, grease stain down his front. She smiled eagerly at him and her expression brightened.

Grinning and waving at Yuna, Tidus pulled out a chair next to Paine and collapsed down onto it, his toolbox hitting the floor with a loud clank. Gippal jumped and turned to for the source of the noise before he glowered at him. Tidus noisily picked up an apple off the bowl on the table before chomping down on it, biting a large chunk out of the flesh and eating it with gusto. A little juice dripped down his chin and Paine made a noise in disgust. It was horrible, the way he ate sometimes, he was so messy and so immature. Yet, because she was so used to his behaviour, she had no will to tell him off. But that didn't mean she understood him. In fact, she didn't even understand what Yuna _saw_ in the guy.

"Where were you?" Gippal asked.

Tidus shrugged.

"Highroad,"

"Why?"

Tidus shrugged again before he took another huge bite out of his apple.

"Hover broke down," The sound of him chewing through the fruit was starting to bother Paine. She flicked her hair.

Yuna eyed the three at the tables, still stirring the pot.

Tidus looked at the girl at the stove. "When's lunch?" He grinned.  
Yuna smiled.

"Soon,"

"What is it?"

"Soup and bread, pasta if anyone wants it,"

The blonde man nodded before taking one last bite from his apple and setting the core down onto the table. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up, picking his box up.

"Gotta go find Blappa. Give me a yell when lunch is ready," Tidus walked out with a wave. Paine rolled her eyes. Was food the _only_ thing he ever thought about? _Probably, considering the size of his brain. Not very big._

Gippal's eye widened, and he set off on his way after Tidus, intent on asking him about the bunk arrangements.

Apparently not noticing the two's departure, Paine frowned disgustedly again at the apple core and poked it with the end of her pen.

* * *

Buddy and Rikku hurried out of the room. Rikku felt extremely sticky and dirty, what with being covered head to toe in sand and sweat, but she didn't care. She wanted to go to D'jose, and wanted the job. Cid _had_ to let her go, he couldn't say no. Who knew, maybe she'd even pick up a nice boy there, settle down eventually and even pop out the old man a kid or two. That was what he wanted from his daughter, wasn't it?

The two approached the door in which they knew Cid was behind, and Brother also, now probably spilling everything about Rikku's ridiculous idea of cross-dressing.

At the door, the two looked at each other, Rikku had a frown on her face. Buddy grinned and shrugged.

"I think it's great," He said. "Seeing you dress up as a boy?"

Rikku flushed.

"It isn't gonna be that funny,"

"Oh, yes it is,"

Rikku rolled her eyes. She stood with Buddy, the two unable to decide wether to knock or not.

* * *

"What is it, boy," Cid asked his son, his tone gruff and impatient.

Brother cleared his throat.

"Vydran, I have something to say."

"Well, spill the beans then, I haven't got all day,"

Brother cleared his throat again.

"Rikku is going to D'jose."

Cid looked up. "And what's yer point?"

"She is going to D'jose."

"Alright,"

"Vydran," Brother groaned. "Rikku ec kuehk du ku du D'jose du zueh dra Sylreha Vyldeuh'c ybbnahdelacreb bnuknys dryd ec vun _sah uhmo_! Oui sicd cdub ran!" Apparently switching back to his native tongue was much easier at a time of stress like this.

Cid raised an eyebrow. Rikku was going to do the apprenticeship program? But that was mad, Rikku, entering it. He had been the one to specify to Gippal after all, that choosing a boy was the best option to share the Machine Faction's responsibilities, and Rikku was going to join? Cid frowned.

"Is that it?" Cid asked his son.

Brother nodded, dumbfounded. He had expected much, much more, a shout, a yell, maybe even a roar of fury, but this? No way!

Cid frowned again, stared at the table for a moment, then quickly drew his conclusion.

"So are you here tryna' tell me to stop her from goin' to D'jose?"

Brother nodded once more.

"Well then you're wastin' your time, boy, go find another bone to pick,"

"Fryd?! Fro?!"

"You know better than me you can't change no mind of hers when it's set, your mother was the same way. If she wants to go, then you'll let her go, you hear?"

"Pid fro- Vydran- Ed fyc cbaleveat, _sah uhmo_!"

"That's right," Cid replied, bored. "Gippal knows darn well he ain't gonna hire some girl to do it, so you just let her off on her own. She'll be lucky if Gippal even lets her try, anyway,"

"Pid-"

"Shut yer trap, boy, I'm busy. Now you get goin'." Cid dismissed his son with an easy wave of the hand.

Cid knew, that in any given situation his daughter could probably outsmart her elder brother in any way, and with no difficulty whatsoever. Fine, then, let her try, he didn't mind. But he knew, even if Rikku got so far, Gippal would probably decide against her gender and choose not to hire her. _I'll be,_ he thought,_ a woman, directing a Faction? Preposterous._ Well, that was the way things went, wasn't it? And if Gippal felt as if all the girls should be given an equal chance as well? It was the boy's Faction, and he had no business with that, so he could do whatever he pleased then.

Feeling hopeless, Brother turned and left with a last angry snort.

* * *

Opening the door angrily, Brother came face to face with Rikku and Buddy, the former whom was snorting with giggles. Brother's eyes narrowed. It was obvious she had listened to their entire conversation inside the office.

He walked away.

Buddy rolled his eyes and ran forwards to catch up with his friend, leaving Rikku standing outside the office alone.

"Ignore him, Rikku. Pack your stuff tonight, we ain't wastin' no time. I'll tell Cid we're leaving in three days, alright?" He called over his shoulder as he left.

Yes! Rikku thought. She made a happy jig on the spot. Buddy had agreed to take her!  
Hmph, well too bad if Brother didn't want her to go. He wouldn't stop her, nope, even Cid had said that she were to be allowed to go.

Turning to head towards Home's living quarters, she made her way to her room before collapsing onto her bed, exhaustion finally setting in.

That day, Rikku decided on one thing before the sun set.

She wanted that job. She wanted the position, and she was going to get it. She was going to show Brother how much determination she carried, just how good an engineer she was, and she was going to _kick his ass_.

* * *

**Translations:**  
"Rikku ec kuehk du ku du D'jose du zueh dra Sylreha Vyldeuh'c ybbnahdelacreb bnuknys dryd ec vun sah uhmo! Oui sicd cdub ran!" - Rikku is going to go to D'jose to join the Machine Faction's apprenticeship program that is for men only! You must stop her!

"Fryd?! Fro?!" - What?! Why?!

"Pid fro- Vydran- Ed fyc cbaleveat, _sah uhmo_!" - But why- Father- It was specified, _men only_!

* * *

**A/N:**  
This was a filler. The real plot starts next, and it gets better, I swear it does. Come back soon :D  
R&R :)  
RC 


	3. Chapter 3

**The Hush Sound - Chapter 3  
My hands will wait for a taste of your skin **

* * *

Rikku bounced up and down happily, skipping up and down the stairs at Home, running down the corridors and checking for the last few times wether she had everything packed or not. Ooh, she was so excited! Oh happy, happy day. Today would be the day they would _finally_ set off for D'jose! She couldn't wait. And she had a nice plan going on, it was all worked out perfectly.

First, she'd set off for D'jose with the Gullwings, and upon arrival, they'd hang back for the night at Mi'ihen. Rikku, meanwhile, would hop along to the Machine Faction, the building which previously had been a temple for one of Spira's ancient religions. There, she'd steal Yuna away from the kitchens and tell her about the plan, so Yuna wouldn't be surprised when Rikku's time came to start wearing the disguise. The next day or so, she'd make her make her grand appearance with the Gullwings, and then all would be good to start the program. It was foolproof. At least, she thought it was.

* * *

Yuna hummed to herself, a bright smile on her face. She was in the kitchens again, busy washing up the dirty dishes still left over from breakfast and deciding on the menu for the day's lunch. The window above the sink was wide open, sunlight stretched into the kitchen. Elbow-deep in warm soapy water, Yuna gave the dishes one last rinse before groping down the bottom of the sink for the plug. She pulled the chain, and the water made a great gurgling sound before proceeding to slowly disappear down the drain.

Letting the sink go, she piled the dishes into a rack next to the sink basin before she reached for the white and blue striped hand towel that was shoved down the front of her white apron. Yuna had just put the first few dishes away into the cabinets above the stoves when she heard someone enter.  
Turning on the spot, her eyes fell on Tidus. He smiled.

"There's someone here to see you, Yuna,"

"Who is it?" Yuna replied.

Tidus shrugged.

"Your cousin, apparently. Short, blonde. What's her name-"

"Rikku?!" Yuna asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. She said she'd wait at the bridge,"

With an excited squeal, Yuna haphazardly took her apron off and threw it to Tidus before darting out past him in a hazy blur of white, pink and blue. Tidus chuckled to himself before he put the apron over the oven handle. He turned to follow Yuna out, grabbing an apple on the way.

* * *

Gippal grinned and chuckled, turning around to head back to the main building. Preparations were almost done, and a few applicants had already arrived that morning. He looked forward to meeting more of them, although truthfully, he seen any promise. No one had that _zing _with their attitude, the way they talked, the way they handled Machina. Well, still more teams to come.

His hand slide over the railing as he walked forwards, looking hard out at the water. It was sparkling in the sunlight. Gippal's lips curved up into a smile, content. For a moment, he stared out at the water, his mind focused on nothing in particular. A high-pitched shriek sounded and he snapped out of his daydream to look for the source of the noise. Gippal's eye fell upon Yuna, running down the bridge. She was sprinting towards a girl sitting on top of the rail edge, who'd just jumped off it. He'd never seen the girl before in his life.

The girl was blonde and was dressed in a bright lemon yellow A-Line Empire cut pinafore dress that came to hang halfway down her thighs. A pair of what appeared to be brown leather sandals were strapped around tiny, delicate ankles. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail to the side, matching yellow ribbon blowing in the light sea wind that blew across the waters. A few braids hung off her elastic messily, beads clinking in the wind gently whilst her hem blew to the side. A shining silver band was set on her upper arm.

Yuna and the girl were now hugging, laughing and exchanging greetings. Gippal wondered who the girl was, probably a friend of hers. She was short, Gippal thought, as he surveyed her up and down. Al Bhed too, by the colour of her hair and the shade of her complexion, golden and tanned, not a single blemish or scar in sight as the hem of her dress rode up. Her legs were so long and toned, Gippal's eyebrows rose. _Nice legs_.

He cast the girl another quick look-over, then caught a glimpse of her face. The girl had dimples, showing as she grinned, bright, straight, white teeth and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. His eye travelled down her chest and body to rest over her rear. _Hoo boy. Thatta great body._ He'd never seen a girl that sexy in D'jose for a long, long while now, having been surrounded by men most of the time. Not that he'd been particularly social over the last few months.

* * *

… 

"You WHAT?!"

"Yeah,"

"Since when?!"

"Since I decided."

"Which was…?!"

"Three days ago."

Rikku counted on her fingers happily as she watched Yuna's bewildered face stare at her incredulously. The two were standing on the D'jose bridge, having recently being united. Rikku had gone directly to the point and told Yuna about her plan, and Yuna was taking it exactly how Rikku had pictured it.

Rikku giggled as Yuna continued to stare at her.

"But how are you gonna do that?! I mean…"

"I can dress up." Rikku replied. "I tried on a pair of Brother's old overalls… they're not too bad. Buddy gave me a few of his old shirts, too. It hides most of me, anyway. Besides, who's gonna care enough to look?" She shrugged.

Yuna frowned.

"So will you promise not to tell anyone?"

Yuna hesitated for a moment, but nodded. There was no use in disagreeing to promise anyway, Rikku had already come with her name down and her bags packed.

"Alright,"

"Yess!" Rikku leapt towards the brunette girl and hugged her. Yuna laughed and hugged her back.

"But one thing," Yuna smiled. "Tonight, we turn you into a boy!" She winked.

They both erupted into fits of laughter.

* * *

"Hey, Yuna,"

Yuna jumped in fright and whirled around to come face to face with Gippal. She gasped and put a hand over her heart before sighing.

"Gippal! You scared me,"

Gippal grinned.

"Sorry. Anyway, it's almost time we should start, d'you mind if we head back into the temple?" He cast a glance at the blonde girl before looking back to Yuna. Oh, but from what he'd seen already she was such a cute one, he wanted to keep looking at her, study her face...

"I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

"No, it's okay," Yuna replied. She looked at Rikku, then back to Gippal. "Gippal, this is Rikku… Rikku, this is Gippal. He's the leader of the Machine Faction."

Nodding, Gippal held out his hand to Rikku. She took it, a pink tinge on her face and smiled sweetly.

"Rikku lives in Bikanel. She came along with the Gullwings to visit me. She's my cousin,"

"Uh huh," Gippal said. "Al Bhed too, are ya?" Well, of course she was Al Bhed, she had the green eyes and blonde hair… but he didn't have anything else to say. Gippal refrained himself from letting a cheesy pickup line leave his lips before it was too late.

Rikku nodded.

"Yep."

"Great… great," Gippal said. He looked down into her eyes. Big, green, inky black swirly depths… beautiful. Rikku smiled at him, and something in his chest tingled.

"-if that's okay. Alright?"

"Huh?" Gippal's head snapped to the side. His eyes caught Yuna's, and he suddenly received the nasty feeling that indicated he'd just missed her sentence.

Yuna sighed.  
"I was asking wether it was alright for Rikku to stay for lunch… I haven't seen her in so long."

Gippal's eyebrows rose and he nodded.

"Yeah, sure. You go do your… uh, catching up."

"Great!" Yuna smiled. Gippal grinned back at her.

"We can take her around the Faction if you like," He added. He looked at Rikku. She smiled at him and nodded eagerly.

"That'd be great!"

"Right… come this way then," Gippal threw Rikku one of his trademark charming smiles and led them away, his walk turning into a buoyant strut. When Yuna giggled, Rikku looked at her questioningly. Yuna shook her head still smiling and kept walking on, leaving Rikku with a quizzical look on her face.

* * *

"So, what are you ladies off to do now?" 

"How about that tour?" Rikku said casually. She was so excited to see the Faction, all that machinery! But she didn't want to seem too eager, that'd ruin the impression she was trying to make. She didn't want to seem like she was trying too hard.

"Sure thing."

Gippal had watched Yuna and Rikku out of the corner of his eye throughout all of lunch whilst he sat with Paine, Tidus, and a few other friends, and unless he'd seen wrongly; which he highly doubted, she was a cute, carefree, easy to amuse and quick to laugh, sharp with her tongue and slick with her movements. Rikku seemed like exactly the type pf edgy, outgoing girl he was so partial towards. To make things simple, she was hot, and she attracted him further the more he looked at her.

This was to the point in which he now wanted to show her around, throw her a few more of his charismatic smiles, smirk here and there, hint a little with his eyes… she'd be thrilled at his smooth-talking, cool attitude and he'd have a date in the bag by next weekend.

Gippal beckoned forwards, jerking his head casually in the general direction to the entrance of the main workroom. Rikku and Yuna both followed, a few steps behind him.

"The Al Bhed make up the majority of the faction, but we've got a couple of Yevonites here as well," Gippal said relaxedly. Rikku nodded to him, blinking out of her eyes. They continued to walk through the vast building.

Rikku surveyed the man who was the leader of the Machine Faction as he walked on ahead of her. He was tall, lean and muscular, his shoulders well built. She thought she could see the ripples in his abdomen muscles whenever he turned back around to say something to her; but what was with the purple shirt and puffy pants? She'd never be caught dead wearing red, black and purple together, either. Well, he was good looking, Rikku thought, the high cheekbones seemed to compliment perfectly with his long nose, and not to mention, those gorgeous lips! Rikku shook her head. What was she thinking? She barely knew the guy, and he was soon going to see her for a month as a boy!

Skipping a few steps ahead of themselves, she and Yuna caught up with Gippal. They turned and entered the workroom.

* * *

"Ooh…" Rikku looked delightedly around the room. There were stations here and there, bits and pieces of machinery strewed the floor. Bright blue electricity crackled and the familiar whirring hum of the machinery brought back happy memories of Home. This was where she felt happiest, amongst oil and metal. The hours just passed when you handed her a spanner and a few bits of metal.

Gippal smirked. He could tell she liked the place, no ordinary Al Bhed would be able to look once at the room and be able to leave.

"You can work with machinery?" He asked. The answer was obvious she was able to, being able to engineer was part of the Al Bhed way of life. It was inevitable. Still, he wanted to ask her, just to make sure. _Because a girl that damn pretty sure as hell doesn't spend her days ankle-deep in bits of machina._

Rikku looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"What'd you think I did, then?" Brother's image suddenly filled her mind. He'd be hanging out at Mi'ihen with Buddy and Shinra, right about now. "Playing with the sand worms?" She snickered and examined her nails, painted bright fluorescent orange.

Gippal's eyebrows rose. Oh, this was a girl who knew how to bite back. He smirked.

"You any good at _oiling up engines_?" The innuendo left his throat before he could help himself, the bait was wonderful.

Rikku's green eyes narrowed darkly as she caught the implications before snapping back, "Oh yeah, I'm an _expert_ at making _most_ machines work. Don't know what engines _you've_ been using if you can't take care of 'em yourself,"

Rikku might have been easy going and friendly, but she hated it when people didn't take her seriously or respected her. Underlying her sometimes childish and hyperactive personality lay a stubborn, headstrong independent woman, and there was nothing worse to her than a man who took about on his way being _Mister Jackass_. Which, Gippal, at the moment, was currently being.

His eyebrows rose yet higher as the girl stood in front of him, her turn now to smirk. He frowned.

_Maybe she won't be as easy as I thought.  
_

* * *

Yuna caught on the true meaning of Gippal's words after a short while of thought, having been unable to understand at first. Yuna could laughed at him and his actions, if she cared to. But knowing him, she didn't. Instead, she grabbed Rikku by the wrist and pulled her towards a nearby and unoccupied workstation. 

Rikku smirked again to herself as they walked away from Gippal. So this was him trying to pick up a girl? Well, he'd have to try harder if he were really interested, didn't he? If he were as impressed by her as he looked, then he wouldn't be able to handle the sight of her messing with a _real_ engine anytime soon. Rikku giggled.

"Come here, Rikku, have a go. Here, wear this," Yuna took her white apron off and put it around Rikku. She tied it, and Rikku started to giggle.

"Am I allowed to?"

"Sure," Yuna smiled. She pushed her towards the hover, taken apart for maintenance.

Rikku's eyes brightened excitedly for a moment before she slid down and under the hover, her fingers grabbing a few tools before she disappeared, all but her long, silky looking legs hidden from sight.

Gippal swallowed as he saw her legs move about. He almost moaned. Those legs were so freaking damn sexy- ah, crap.

Yuna grinned, crossed her arms and looked intently at Gippal. He seemed to be under some sort of unknown pressure. Yep, she totally ought to laugh at him. He was making a total idiot of himself trying to impress her like that, but then again, he couldn't have known Rikku wasn't anything like any of the other girls he'd dated. She was different.

Yuna had caught that look in Gippal's eye in an instant, and she was sure Rikku didn't have a boyfriend. Call her crazy, but something just might work out between the two. Now that she thought about it, she didn't seem to be able to think of any man better suited to her lively, high-spirited Rikku. Yuna walked down the corridor, suppressing the urge to laugh aloud at Gippal's actions. His strut earlier on the bridge had been rather funny. To her, at least.

* * *

For a while, Gippal and Yuna stood, watching Rikku fix the engine from under. Rikku gasped in pain. She held her hand out above her face and studied her fingers. Sure enough, the nail on her index finger was chipped and cracked. Pain shot through her finger.

Gippal had just about almost had enough of looking at those legs, and was about to ask her to come out from under the hover, when he stopped short of moving-

A frustrated groan sounded from under the hover that sent the strangest images reeling through Gippal's mind as he imagined what other noises would escape her throat as he ran his hands up- That thought stops. Now.

Rikku pulled herself out from under the hover and stood up. A single, small streak of grease stained her cheek. She hurried forwards to Yuna, clutching her hand.

"I broke my nail," She said. "Can you help?"

Yuna nodded. "Kitchen." She said. "Let's go,"

Yuna quickly pulled Rikku away, leaving Gippal standing in the middle of the workroom.

Waving a goodbye that he knew was left unnoticed by either of the two girls, he walked over to the hover and peeked under and into the engine. There, everything was almost back to normal, the misplaced bits of engine put back in correctly, old charred wires replaced by brand new ones. Gippal was sure that just before it had all been damaged and twisted out of shape, and there, right in front of him was now an engine repaired remarkably well. All in that short space of time? No way. _Hoo, boy. Better at fixing engines than advertised._

* * *

Yuna pranced lightly into the lobby. It was quiet now, late in the afternoon and most workers had gone home or retreated back into the living quarters for the day. Rikku was nowhere to be seen.

Upon seeing Gippal, she quickened her pace and arrived next to him. He seemed to be studying a few papers. Yuna lifted her hand and put it gently onto Gippal's shoulder. He turned instantly and looked down at her.

"Oh. Hi."

"Hi," Yuna smiled.

"Where's your cousin?"

"Oh, she left."

"What? When?"

"A few moments ago. She wanted to get back to Mi'ihen before it got too late. I'll be meeting her there tonight, I wanna see the rest of the Gullwings."

"She went alone?"

"No, I got Tidus to drop her off."

"Oh."

Yuna giggled. Her throat almost hurt from all the giggling she had done that day.

"You would have preferred to drop her off yourself?"

"Wha- no! Yuna, I barely talked to her, I only met her today."

"But you thought she was hot stuff," Yuna answered back knowingly. She didn't bother to hide the teasing smile on her face.

Gippal smirked, knowing better than to hide it from her.

"Yeah, I did. That ass, I-" He stopped as he caught the expression on Yuna's face; I don't need to hear.

"Her brother has his own airship," Yuna continued. "She can even fly it,"

He smirked again and seized the opportunity to make another innuendo.

"Oh, she can pilot my ship, any day,"

Yuna ignored his comment.

"Anyway," She continued, "If you're really interested, I think she'll be staying on the mainland for a while, until the Gullwings settle down, so there're more opportunities to come," Yuna gave a tinkling laugh and danced away in search of Tidus.

_Damn,_ Gippal thought. He'd let Rikku leave without so much as a goodbye, and now Yuna was acting as if she were the queen of the freaking place, giggling and smirking at him. _Aw, great_. And if he weren't mistaken, by tomorrow, the whole of Mi'ihen and D'jose would know about him and his newfound interest in the girl named Rikku.

* * *

**A/N:**  
Lol this was a little strange.. but meh. Thankyou to all the reviewers so far! It makes my day. Next chapter... Rikku starts work with the Faction as a boy. It'll be a funny one... even I laughed as I was writing it :3 Come back soon :D:D LOL, how do you like the jobs? Paine the Secretary, Tidus the Mechanic, Yuna the Kitchen Hand XD Tell me what you think.  
R&R  
RC 


	4. Chapter 4

**The Hush Sound - Chapter 4**  
**In a field outside of town we could always be alone, carry a blanket, maybe a basket.  
**

* * *

Gippal was frustrated. It was only halfway through the first week of four and already some idiot had blown a hole right through one of his walls. His precious, precious cold stone grey walls.People ran around the temple in a frenzy, yelling and clutching at their hair; "Cred! Fryd ev dra pucc vehtc uid! Fa'na vilgat!"

Of course, Gippal had replied most distastefully, his voice hoarse with all the shouting he was getting done; "Oui sunuhc paddan lmayh drec sacc ib ev oui fyhhy gaab ouin bmylac, yht pavuna cihtufh; dryd'c dra caluht desa drec oayn E'ja ryt y ruma pmufh eh so fymm, oui eteudc!"

Paine smiled a rare smile behind her clipboard as her pen ran to and fro over the paper . The chaos, stressed workers and cursing Gippal meant that everything, was going, straight according to plan.

* * *

"No way, man! Shut up!"

"Telgrayt! E fych'd lralgehk ran uid!"

"Naw, but you should've seen the look on his face!"

"Oui fana! Yeh'd hu ica moeh'!"

Raucous laughter erupted from the tables. Yuna only smiled as she carried the stacks of dishes and bowls to the tables, distributing them to the hungry workers. Buddy grinned at Yuna and got up to help her, giving the plates out as she ladled soup into them. Lunch had to be her favourite part of the day, she thought.

Rikku rested her chin on the palm of her hand, playing with her napkin absentmindedly. It was almost the end of the first week, and it hadn't been too hard so far. She just had to be extra careful around the showers. Gippal hadn't talked to her much, neither had Paine, so that was good. They were nowhere to be seen at the moment. Rikku hadn't ever seen any of them eat; maybe they just kept themselves alive on the endless cups of coffee they seemed to consume each day. Well, more like Red Bulls, in Gippal's case. She shrugged to herself, immersed in her thoughts. Gippal. Her boss. _Adorable,_ she thought. _Especially when he stands to the side with that cheeky look on his face, rumpling the hair on the back of his head._  
But he was rather stuck up and egotistical, when it came down to solid fact. Ooh, but that butt! It was cute.  
Rikku shook her head insistently, as if to shake off her silly thoughts. It really wasn't right to perv on her employer's backside every time he bent over into the hover. It wasn't like she could help it, though. And those lips just _begged_ to be kissed. Rikku grumbled to herself.

"Hey, Shinra, will you pass me the bread?"

* * *

Yuna finally sat down next to Rikku and engaged herself in a cheerful conversation with Shinra, sitting in front of her; _'Yeah! Isn't that cool, Yuna!? And I had to replace all the spark plugs, but I got it up and running in about ten minutes, anyway!'_

Rikku stopped shredding her napkin to little strips and looked up. She caught sight of Gippal talking to Paine. Ooh, since when did he get there? It was a rather nice view. He was leaning against the doorframe casually, his arms crossed, a lazy, relaxed look on his face. Rikku pushed the rim of her hat up with her fingertips, still looking at Gippal.

His head turned. He caught Rikku's eye. For a split second, Gippal wondered where he'd seen those swirly jade green eyes before, those bubblegum pink lips. Gippal's eyebrows furrowed and Rikku squeaked. She pulled the hat over her eyes quickly and turned her back onto him, turning back to Yuna.

Gippal shuddered immediately as he motioned out to Paine. What was he thinking, almost waxing poetic over a _fourteen year old_? And a _boy_, no less. Gippal gulped as he left the kitchens, Paine at his side. Thoughts about a _boy_?

Wait. What was he doing checking a _guy_ out?

* * *

When Rikku looked back at the doorframe some ten minutes later, she turned away disappointed. Gippal had already left.

* * *

"Gippal!" The brunette girl ran towards him and flung her arms around Gippal's neck. She stood up on her tiptoes and pushed up against him, kissing him on the chin. She giggled.

"Hey, Maya. Honey." Gippal said to her slowly. Oh no. What was she doing here? "What's up, babe?"

Maya gave a tinkling laugh and stroked down the length of his nose affectionately. Her large brown eyes were wide with appreciation, her lips parted ever so slightly.

"Just dropping by," She smiled up at him through long lashes.

Gippal grinned weakly and attempted to prise her arms off from around him. His eye flickered around the room. No-one in particular was watching. Most people were still at lunch, and Maya was here, again, in D'jose.

Great.

_Damn_, the Yevonite girls got too clingy and dependant. And just how many times had he broken up with her? _Hmm. _

Gippal had gotten bored of her quickly.  
No matter how hard he tried to peel her off of his arms, he wasn't able to get the message into her without hurting her feelings. No, he was a gentleman and he didn't break poor women's hearts like that. Entirely.

It was like dating an octopus, breaking up with it only to have it squirt ink back into your face and wrap itself around you so tightly that you couldn't get it off. Yeah. Like. An octopus.

Maya was a chore. It was a duty. He couldn't get rid of her. He'd even stopped sharing his room with her. And he'd told her that he'd wanted a break, wanted to concentrate on his career, but she didn't seem to care.  
So, every time Maya decided to hop over to D'jose, Gippal would greet her casually, take the first opportunity to slip away and shut himself in his office, away from view. This day was no different. The first thing now on his long list of agenda: Get away from Maya.

Like, seriously. Sometimes, the girl started to give him the total _creeps_.

"…is that right?" Maya whispered into his collarbone. Gippal twitched and jumped.

"What?"

Maya sighed and let go of his shoulders. She looked up at him, her face crestfallen.

"I… I think I should go. You aren't focused. I'll see you later, Gippal," She turned to leave.

Gippal struggled with himself before he said, "Hey, Maya, come here," He reached out to her and grasped her shoulder. Sands, she was _so_ sensitive. He pulled her around in a circle. Maya stared up at him, her eyes wide. Gippal sighed and ran his knuckles over her cheekbone gently.

"Sorry, I'm just a little out of it, that's all. Y'know, new kids here and all," Gippal grinned sheepishly at her, feeling guilty. Maya had been so nice to him during the time they had been properly together, and whilst he just wasn't interested anymore, he couldn't just kick her away…

Maya's lips curved up into a small smile. "It's okay. I… I'm going back to Kilika, that's all I wanted to tell you," She said.

Gippal nodded. "Yeah… yeah. Okay."

Maya's smile grew, her confidence and usual chipper mood returning. She leant forwards and kissed Gippal on the cheek, gently.

"I might call you sometime, if I feel like it," Her eyes sparkled and her fingers tickled against his collarbones. She turned her back on him and made to walk out of the room. Then, suddenly, as if it were the most casual thing he were to do in a situation like the one that he were in; he reached out and patted her rear, pushing her towards the door playfully. Maya squealed and giggled before she flashed Gippal a wink and left quickly.

Gippal watched her back retreat, ash brown hair bobbing along, her curves becoming more and more apparent as she walked, her hips swinging from side to side. A lump rose in his throat, and he suddenly remembered why he had been so attracted to her in the first place.

Gippal turned back to head back towards the damaged wall, intending to examine the extent of the repair needed to be undertaken. Something caught his eye. He stopped and came face to face with the scrawny-looking boy from the Gullwings.

Riku.

* * *

Rikku's eyebrows rose as she looked at Gippal from under the beak of her hat.

Gippal glanced at the other workers before smirking at Riku. He knew the kid had been watching his interaction with Maya. Gippal's smirk grew into a snicker. He was guessing the boy hadn't ever been kissed before, at what, fourteen? The kid seriously needed to beef up. Gippal couldn't understand why Riku was such a scrawny little thing when his older brother was, well, a _tank_. Still, some kids just weren't as fortunate as others. Gippal smirked to himself again.

* * *

Rikku's fist unconsciously tightened around her wrench. She didn't know why she was so frustrated, especially because she had absolutely _nothingtodowithhim_. Ooh, but he was smirking at her! How _dare_ he- Rikku blinked as Gippal made his way across the room towards her. She turned back to the hover she was repairing and bent over the engine, the hood lifted up.

Rikku gasped and her skin tingled as she felt Gippal's breath brush over her neck. He kept his distance, but he was still close, much, much too close for her to stay in her comfort zone. Rikku gulped. Gippal was watching her work over her shoulder.

"Hey there little buddy, why don't you move over and let me show you how the big boys do it," Rikku squeaked. She could almost _feel_ his lips moving. Gippal moved away and leaned against the side of the hover, balancing his weight on a leg. Another smirk crossed his face.  
Rikku's eyes flashed with anger. So this was Gippal. Rikku scowled. His cheeks would probably fall off anytime now, what with getting all that smirking done. Ooh, he was an arrogant little flirting-- Oh wait. Hang on. He wasn't _flirting_…  
Rikku had to remember. She wouldn't lose her composure. She was a boy. She was Riku, master engineer, best friend of Shinra and younger brother of Rikku, who was currently residing at Mi'ihen and spending her days in Luca, and younger brother also, to Brother, currently the leader of the Gullwings.

According to Yuna, that was, at any rate.

She'd have to stuff her feminine wiles back down into her little bag of boy-charming tricks and embrace her inner masculinity. Yessums. _Oh, the joys of cross-dressing,_ she thought rather miserably. Well, how hard could it be? She hadn't ever been known for being particularly feminine back at Home, anyway. She was a tomboy; one of them, working in the sun and sand, sweating, covered in fine grains of sand and salvaging what machina she could. And she loved every minute of it.

"See this here? Kid? Just to give you a tip, the crankshaft needs to be replaced. It'll never start up when it's like that."  
But Rikku wasn't listening.

A yell sounded.

"Wait here, kid, I'll be right back," Gippal's voice interrupted her thoughts again. He turned and left to tend to another worker.

Rikku ignored him and proceeded to start working on the engine again. Just when she had almost forgotten about Gippal's most charmingly **annoying** presence. She was supposed to finish by the end of the day, and she didn't want anyone to distract her. One of the first tasks assigned to the course applicants was designed so the distribution of ability to repair broken machina between everyone could be assessed, and she wanted to do it perfectly. Be at the top of the top, be the best of the best. She'd try and outsmart Shinra, even, though she highly doubted she could. Shinra was a child prodigy, a kid genius.  
It was just as well she had been given a broken hover, because she was a whiz at it, unlike Brother, whose only forte appeared to be repairing aircraft engines and blowing walls up. She grinned to herself.

Rikku could hear Gippal laughing heartily over the whirr-hum of the machinery. Her eyes narrowed as she yanked particularly forcefully at a stubborn wire. The guys hadn't been doing anything but cracking dirty jokes all day, and was that what he was laughing at, too? He certainly had seemed the gentleman the other day, but heck, how can first impressions ever count? Rikku's fists clenched at her sides, her left hand now tightening over her wrench. Her nails dug into her palms, leaving little crescent-shaped grooves in the skin.  
She didn't know why she was so angry.

A strong hand clasped over her shoulder. Rikku's heart stopped for a single moment. Adrenaline shot through her body like an electric current. In one swift movement, she pivoted on her toe and swung her fist forwards; one huge reflex well-learnt from her days in the desert, defending herself and her loot from bandits and fiends. In a single action, Rikku's fist found it's way and sank directly into the persons stomach, hard, fast, brutal. Who was the fucker, grabbing her shoulder like that from behind? She caught a flash of lilac, but it didn't seem to indicate the particular person, her mind still clouded with impulse.  
Rikku glared at them as they recoiled from the hit, doubled over and groaned in pain, clutching their stomach. A smirk crossed her face as she retracted her knuckles from the persons body. She might not look it, but the tiny frame she came in contained a powerfully packaged punch. Judging by the way her fist had sunk into the person, it was a man. _A man with nice abdomen muscles._  
That wasn't important, though. This idiot had tried to grab her from behind and now paid the price. Groaning in pain seemed to be a small price to pay for handling a decent girl like her so rudely. Oh, if only she had those two slick red blades, she'd slice them in half. Pity they were in her room.

Except, this time, it wasn't a bandit, and it wasn't a fiend, either.

* * *

**Translations:**  
"Cred! Fryd ev dra pucc vehtc uid! Fa'na vilgat!" - Shit! What if the boss finds out! We're fucked! 

"Oui sunuhc paddan lmayh drec sacc ib ev oui fyhhy gaab ouin bmylac, yht pavuna cihtufh; dryd'c dra caluht desa drec oayn E'ja ryt y ruma pmufh eh so fymm, oui eteudc," - You morons better clean this mess up if you wanna keep your places, and before sundown; that's the second time this year I've had a hole blown in my wall, you idiots,

"Telgrayt! E fych'd lralgehk ran uid!" - Dickhead! I wasn't checking her out!

"Oui fana! Yeh'd hu ica moeh'!" - You were! Ain't no use lyin'!

* * *

**A/N:**  
Hehe, thank you to **PrettyGothGirl** and **Acrimony** for the comments on the last scene... It's my favourite in this chapter.  
I seem to have a certain fondness of putting OC's into fics with Gippal... anyway. I know this is late, but I promise to try and update every week or two. I'm not getting many reviews on this, so there obviously is something wrong with it. I don't know what, though, so please tell me what this lacks.  
TWTP... honestly I haven't started chapter 6. It might come soon if I find inspiration._  
_This takes place almost two weeks after Chapter 1 and almost a week since the start of the month at D'jose. Thankyou. 


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